Telephone calling dial device



Jan.5, 1943.

G. R. LUM TELEPHoNn'cALL'ING DIAL DEVICE Filed Feb. 4, l`942 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 aosasaes/s/aaaf/G.

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ATTORNEY Jan. 5, 1943. G. R. LUM 2,307,226

` TELEPHONE CALLING DIAL DEVICE l n Filed Feb. 4,v 1942 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 2o aaa 22 s2 37 7 35 /3/4 s 34 m e mnu 56 ATTORNEY the cost. Vand advantageous to make the` fingerqwheel of' Patented Jan. 5, 1943 TELEPHONE CALLING' DIAL DEVICE George E. Lum, New York, N. Y., assignor to Bell Telephone Laboratories,

Incorporated, New

York, N. YL, a corporation ofNew York ApplicationFebruary 4, 1942,` SerialNo. 429,511

8` Claims..

This invention. relatesA to telephone calling dial devices and more particularly. totelephone calling dial devices in which a finger wheel is provided to facilitate manual operation of the device.

. .An object of the invention is to provide a suitable structure and arrangement for flexibly supporting the finger wheel andl which permits vready removal or replacement of the finger wheel.

A feature of the invention resides in a flexible support for the finger Wheel.

Another feature resides in the finger: wheel structure.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a side elevational view partlyf msecL tion of the telephone calling dial device embodying the invention;

Fig.. 2 shows, in exploded arrangement; the dial device and the finger wheel;

Fig. 3 corresponds toFig. 1 but shows a modilication of the finger wheel;

Fig. 4 is a top plan view of the finger wheel and the flexible support but is drawnin` reduced scale relative to Figs. 1, 2 and 3;

Fig. 5 is' a side elevational view, partlyln secs tion, of a portion of a calling dial devicef and shows a modification of the flexible support for the finger wheel; land Fig. 6 corresponds to Fig. 4 with the exception that the iiexible support is'- constructed likevthe one shown in` Fig. 5.

It is common* practice tol makevfinger4 wheels for telephone calling devices ofv metalandto directly mount the finger wheel. on the' rotatable shaft of the device, the finger wheelbeing held in place by means of a nut, screwthreaded, on the shaft.

It is also common practice to have'` ank apertured and integral hub portion on1the=finger wheel and to mount in the hub portion a. card and a transparent cover for the card, thelcard having the telephone substationv name and' number thereon, and the card andcover. being removable through thev top of the hub; portion to permit replacement of theicardfand'cover` and permit accessv to the nut. on the rotatable shaft.

The trend is now, however, to make the finger wheel of molded plastic material to enhance c the appearance of the calling device and; reduce In some cases it isfound desirable transparent material in orderv that" light. may

ber characters onl the device and located beneath' the finger wheel.

Finger wheels of molded plastic material are not as strong 4as metal finger wheels and may become fractured in service if they are directly attached at their centers to the calling device and if undue pressures are applied to them. It is, therefore, found advantageous to provide a flexible support for the molded plastic' finger wheel;

In this invention a fiexible support is provided f'or the finger wheel. vThe flexible support is mountedr on the rotatable shaft of the calling device and the finger wheelI is mounted on the flexible support. The finger wheel may be applied to the iiexible support without re*- quiring any access through the top of the finger wheel. The finger wheel is formed and arranged sok that the substation name andnumber card is inserted only from the under surface of the finger wheel.

In one embodiment of the invention, an integral window is provided-in the finger wheel to protect the substation number card.

The telephone calling dial device as shown in Figs. 1 and 2 comprises a casing land a fingerA wheel Ii, the finger wheel II being supported above the casing I0. The finger wheel II is supported by a fiexible spider type support I2, the structureL of: which will be subsequently described. The supportv I2 is supported on; a rotatable operating shaft I3 and. is held in place on theshaft I3 by means of a4 nut I4. The shaft i3 extends downward through the casingf III and may be' manually operatedv by meansv of the finger wheel I i to wind upv a spring (not shown) but` which is well known in'the artV as part of a spring motor which serves to return the finger wheel to normal starting position and as a driving means for a contact controlling device I5 which operatesv spring contacts I6 and Il to control theA sendingof signal pulses over a line system to obtain a desired vtelephone call connection.

A ring-shapedy dial I8 bearing groups of let'- ters and numerals on its upper face is supported inthe-top of the casing IIJ, the groupsbeingarranged in positions to be separately observed through finger holes 2i) provided inthe finger Vwheel II, all of which is well known and understood inthe art.

The finger wheel Il may be made of material suitable for molding to required form in a die and may be made, for instance, of a synthetic resin, theI finger wheel I I being providedA- with the usual finger holes to facilitate manual ro tation of the nger wheel in dialing a telephone call. The central portion of the finger wheel II is hollowed out from the under surface to provide a circular indentation 2| of sufficient size to accommodate the flexible support I2 and to leave across the top of the central portion a window 22 which is an integral part of the nger wheel I I. The indentation 2! is dened by the circular side wall 23 and the under surface of the window 22. The side wall 23 of the indentation 2| is recessed at spaced points to provide the recesses 24, and 26 to receive respectively theA are of gradually increasing depth as shown in Fig. 4, the depth increasing in the recess 24 in` aV clockwise direction and in the recess 25 in a counterclockwise direction. The recess 26 is of substantially even depth throughout and the length is only slightly more than the width of one cf the arms of the spider type support I2.

The spider type support I2 is made of material in which a spring pressure may be developed and I;

is centrally apertured to receive the upper portion of the shaft I3. Flat sides may be provided on the upper portion of the shaft I3 and the aperture in the spider type support I2 may be suitably formed to receive the shaft and so that there will be no relative turning of the support I2 on the shaft I3. The spider type support I2 is shown as having three arms but may have a greater number if desired, the iinger wheel in that case having additional recesses to receive the arms of the spider type support. The arms 21 and 28 extend into the respective recesses 24 and 25 and in normal position extend into the deeper ends of the recesses. The arm 29 is bent upwardly at 39 above the plane of the main portion of the spider type support I2 and then downwardly to extend belovi.T the normal plane and upwardly again to the normal plane and outwardly in the normal plane to provide a spring portion 3| comprising the series of bends indicated and a downwardly extending U-shaped portion 32 which extends below the lower surface of the finger wheel II. The outer end 33 of the spring portion 3I normally extends into the recess 26 but may be withdrawn therefrom by suitably compressing the U-shaped portion 32.

The finger wheel II may be readily applied'to and mounted on the spider type support I2 by simply placing the ends of the arms 21 and 28 in the respective recesses 24 and 25 in the nger wheel II, moving the nger wheel II toward the left so that the arms 21 and 28 extend into the deeper ends of the recesses 24 and 25, and then by snapping the arm 29 into the recess 23. The arm 29 may be snapped into place by applying a `screwdriver or other suitable tool againstthe outer leg of the U-shaped portion 32 and apply. ing pressure toward the shaft I3 until the arm 29 is in eiect shortened to a sufficient extent to pass the lower edge of the wall 23. wheel II may then be pressed downwardly'to bring the recess 2S in line with the end portion 33 of the arm 29. Release of the pressure on the U-shaped portion 32 of the arm 29 will result in extension of the arm 29 into the recess 26 under the action of the spring pressure developed in the U-shaped portion 32.

To remove the finger wheel II from the spider type support I2 it is only necessary to, in effect, shorten the arm 29 until the end portion 33 is The recesses 24,'

and 25 are much longer than the recess 26 and` l ment to the finger wheel II.

The nger i withdrawn from the recess 26 and then tilt and move the finger wheel I I so that the arms 21 and 28 are free of the recesses 24 and 25. The arm 29 may be, in eiect, shortened by applying sufficient pressure by means of a suitable tool to the left side of the U-shaped portion 32 and toward the shaft I3.

Whenthegiinger wheel II is mounted on the ex-ible spider type support l2 and is turned in a clockwise direction, the end wall at the deeper end of the recess 25 transmits the rotational movement of the nger wheel II to the flexible spidertype, support I2. In the return movement of the ilexible spider type support I2, the arm -28 fb earingagainst the wall at the deeper end 'ofl thejrecess 25 applies a corresponding move- Since the recess 24 is deepened-in a clockwise direction and the recess 25 is deepened in a counterclockwise direction and the wall at the deeper end of each recess forms-astop. the nger wheel II cannot be rotated krelative to the flexible spider type support AI2 -in-either direction when the finger wheel II is mountedVV onv the flexible spider type support I2, even though there might be some clearance between 1the edges of the arm 29 and the end lwalls ofthe recess 26. The calling device is pro- Avided with .the usual nger stop 34.

.":Ihe window 22, shown in Fig. 1, serves as a protection for the substation name and number carol 35 which is applied against the under surface of the window 22 and held in place by means of a, springl ring 36. The spring ring 36 is an incomplete ring as shown at 31 and is placed against the under edge of the card 35 and is snapped into an annular groove 38 formed in the wall 23 of the indentation 2|.

In Fig. 3 the nger wheel 39 has an apertured hub portion 40 and does not have the integral window 22 shown in Fig. 1. The substationnameand number card 35 is covered by a transparent disc 4I, the disc 4I and the card 35 being placed beneath an overhang 42 in the hub portion 40. The finger wheel 39 is otherwise f formed along the same general lines as the ngerwheel-II in Fig. 1 and is supported in the slime mannerby the ilexible spider type support In the modication shown in Figs. 5 and 6, the nger wheel 56 is constructed along the same general linesas the finger wheel II in Fig. 1. the only diierence is that inthe nger wheel 56,- acomparatively long recess 43 is provided in place of the recess 26. The finger wheel 56 isfsupported on a flexible spider type support 44 comprisingthe 4arms 45, 46 and 41. The arms .45 and 46are corner notched at 48 and 49, respectively, to iii; into the respective recesses 24 andt25 and to bearagainst the corners of the walls atthe' deeper endsof the recesses 24 and .25., The arm 41 is equipped with a pivotally `suppo'rtedhi'nger 53 which may be swung on its --The exible spider type support 44 is apertured 4to receive the shaft I3` and is retained on the "shaft I3 4by'means of the nut I4.

.- :,.Whentne arms 45 ancl46 are in the recesses 24 and 25, respectively, and the finger 53 is extended into the recess 43 and so that the detent means holds the finger 53 in that position, the finger wheel 55 is operatively mounted on the iiexible spider type support 44. Torelease the finger wheel 56 from the exible spider type support fifi, it is only necessary to swing the finger 53 out of the recess 43 and move the finger wheel 55 relative to the flexible spider type support 44 so that the arms l5 and A16 are withdrawn from the respective recesses 24 and 25. The finger 53 may be manipulated by thrusting a screwdriver or other suitable tool against the handle 50 and rotating the linger 53 on its pivotal point of support 54.

What is claimed is:

1. In a telephone calling dial device comprising a rotatable shaft and means controlled by operation of said shaft to control the sending of signal pulses, in combination, a linger wheel, spaced recesses formed in said finger wheel, a spider type support of flexible material mounted on said shaft, arm members on said spider type support extending into said recesses and an extendible arm member on said spider type support extending into one of said recesses, and holding said arms in said recesses so that said finger wheel cannot be accidentally removed from said spider type support.

2. In a telephone calling dial device comprising a rotatable shaft and means controlled by operation of said shaft to control the sending of signal pulses, in combination, a nger wheel, spaced recesses formed in said finger wheel, a spider type support of flexible material mounted on said shaft, arm members on said spider type support extending into said recesses and extendible means on at least one of said arm members and extending into one of said recesses to hold said finger wheel and said spider type support in operative condition.

3. In a telephone calling dial device comprising a rotatable shaft and means controlled by operation of said shaft to control the sending of signal pulses, in combination, a finger wheel, spaced recesses formed in said finger wheel, a spider type support of exible material mounted at its center on said shaft, arms on said spider type support and extending into said recesses and a series of bends formed in at least one of said arms to provide a compressible spring portion thereon to normally maintain the outer ends of said arms in said recesses.

4. In a telephone calling dial device comprising a rotatable shaft and means controlled by operation of said shaft to control the sending of signal pulses, in combination, a finger wheel, a Wall in the central portion of said finger wheel, spaced recesses formed in said wall and opening toward the center of said finger wheel, a spider type support of flexible material mounted on said shaft, arrns on said spider type support extending into said recesses and a folded spring portion formed on at least one of said arms to normally hold said arms in said recesses.

5. In a telephone calling dial device comprising a rotatable shaft and means controlled by operation of said shaft to control the sending of signal pulses, in combination, a finger wheel, an indentation formed in the central portion of said finger Wheel, a wall defining said indentation, spaced recesses of gradually increasing depth formed in said wall, said recesses being deeper at one end than the other and terminating at the deeper end in an abrupt stop, one of said recesses being deepened inV a clockwise direction and another of said recesses being deepened in a counter-clockwise direction, arms on said spider type support extending into said recesses, an extendible arm on said spider type support, a recess formed in said wall to receive an end portion of said extendible arm and said extendible arm serving to hold all arms of said spider type support in the recesses formed in said wall.

6. In a telephone calling dial device comprising a rotatable shaft and means controlled by operation of said shaft for controlling the sending of signal pulses, in combination, a nger Wheel, spaced recesses formed in said finger wheel and opening towards the center of said finger wheel, a spider type support of flexible material mounted at its center on said shaft, the arms of said spider type support extending into said recesses, a folded spring portion formed on at least one of said arms to normally maintain said arms in said recesses and a U-shaped extension in said folded spring portion extending below the lower surface `of said finger wheel and manually operable to release the arm equipped with said folded spring portion from its corresponding recess.

'7. In a telephone calling dial device comprising a rotatable shaft and means controlled by operation of said shaft for controlling the sending of signal pulses, in combination, a finger wheel, spaced recesses formed in said finger wheel and opening toward the center of said nger wheel, a spider type support of flexible material mounted at its center on said shaft, arms on said spider type support extending in line with said recesses, a manually operated nger pivotally supported on at least one of said arms and operable to be moved into the corresponding recess for that arm and so that the other arms of said spider type-support will be brought into their corresponding recesses in said finger Wheel and means on said spider type support and on said finger to releasably hold said finger in operated position.

8. In a telephone calling dial device comprising a rotatable shaft and means controlled by operation of said shaft to control the sending of signal pulses, in combination, a spider type support of exible material supported on said shaft, a finger wheel of transparent material supported on the arms of said spider type support, an indentation formed in the under surface of said finger wheel to receive said spider type support, and a Window integral with said nger Wheel and extending over said spider type support.

GEORGE R. LUM. 

